1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bushing assembly for vehicle sun visors, in particular a two-piece bushing that replaces conventional one-piece sun visor bushings that have been worn out by their continued use over a period of time.
2. Description of the Related Art
Sun visor bushings of the type provided by the present invention are commonly produced as one-piece bushings. These bushings are used in conventional vehicle sun visor assemblies that commonly include a sun visor having a pivot rod extending from one end, and a mounting member or connector that pivotally mounts the sun visor to the interior of the vehicle in a position just above the vehicle windshield.
The conventional one-piece bushing is assembled onto the end of the pivot rod that projects from the vehicle sun visor. The rod and the attached bushing are then inserted into a hollow cavity of the mounting member. One method of assembling the one-piece bushing on the sun visor pivot rod end involves heating the bushing at this point of its assembly, to cause the bushing to soften and conform to the shape of the pivot rod end. This ensures a tight connection between the bushing and the pivot rod end, and produces the needed friction engagement between the rod end and the bushing interior that enables the bushing to hold the sun visor in a variety of adjusted positions in front of the vehicle windshield. The mounting member, with the attached sun visor, is then mounted to the vehicle interior in a manner that permits the sun visor to be pivoted between a first position above the vehicle windshield, and a second position above the driver's side door window. In either of these two adjusted positions of the sun visor mounting member, the permanent friction connection between the one piece bushing and the pivot rod end of the sun visor enables the visor to be adjusted by the vehicle operator through a variety of positions in front of either the vehicle windshield or door window. The friction connection between the bushing and the sun visor pivot rod enables the visor to be moved to, and remain in, the variety of adjusted positions.
During the useful life of a vehicle, the operator of the vehicle will make frequent adjustments to the position of the vehicle sun visor. Each adjustment of the sun visor tends to wear down the friction engagement between the visor bushing and the visor pivot rod end. Once the friction connection between the one-piece bushing and the sun visor pivot rod is worn smooth, the bushing is no longer capable of holding the visor in an adjusted position, and the visor will hang down loosely in front of the vehicle windshield.
In the past, once the friction connection between the sun visor pivot rod and the one-piece bushing was worn to the extent that the bushing was no longer capable of supporting the visor in an adjusted position, the entire sun visor assembly, including the visor and the mounting member, were disassembled from the vehicle and replaced by a new assembly. Replacing the entire visor assembly was necessary because of the difficulty of replacing the worn, one-piece bushing connecting the visor pivot rod to the visor mounting member. This was primarily due to the difficulty involved in forming the replacement bushing on the pivot rod by heating the bushing on the rod end. The heating process was necessary to obtain the required close friction engagement between the bushing and rod end that enables the bushing to hold the sun visor in an adjusted position. Heating the one-piece bushing on the rod end was difficult to perform away from the facilities of the manufacturer, and it became accepted practice to replace the entire visor assembly rather than attempt to repair the assembly.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages associated with conventional vehicle sun visor assemblies by providing a plastic bushing apparatus that replaces worn out one-piece bushings of sun visor assemblies without the need for molding the bushing on the rod end by heating.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a replacement bushing apparatus for a conventional one-piece sun visor bushing that is fabricated from a minimum number of parts, is of simple construction, and is quickly and easily assembled into a conventional vehicle sun visor assembly.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a plastic bushing replacement apparatus for conventional one-piece bushings of vehicle sun visor assemblies that is economically manufactured.
Further objects and features of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon consideration of the following specification, drawings and claims.